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October 16 - 31, 2003 |
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Edmonton - Katmandu (Air Canada, Air Singapore, & Royal Nepal Airlines) |
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42 hours including stopovers! |
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~ $2200 CDN |
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Kathmandu - 25C to 30C; Sunny and not too humid |
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Trekking - 25C to ~0C; Sunny & Clear except for a two days of snow |
Don't ask! There are no signposts along the trails that tell you how far it is from place to place. The answer is always given in time measures, and that will vary. It depends on how many ups and downs, how many markets, local festivals or yak trains we passed by; how many photo opportunities; how long we lingered over tea or lunch. A good estimate would be 10 - 20 kms or 3-6 hours.
Usually we started walking about 8 to 8.30 am. It always started with a wake-up call from our guide with a cup of tea for each of us. We'd pack, eat breakfast and head out. We usually arrived between noon and 2pm with plenty of time for exploring the town.
A typical meal in a lodge will have either a rice, noodle or
potato base and is usually served with vegetables such as carrots, cabbage,
cauliflower or mustard greens. Meat such as buff (buffalo), goat or chicken is
available but we avoided it. Lunch and dinner menus are interchangeable. A must
try are the mo-mos which are meat, cheese or vegetarian filled dumplings, one
place even had Snickers mo-mos which were to die for! Breakfast choices
are muesli, porridge, pancakes or eggs.
Good food, high in carbohydrates and a great source of energy but, it can get a
bit boring on a long trek. Kit-Kat, Pringles and Coca-Cola can be purchased on
the trail so can beer and whiskey! Apparently you should avoid alcohol on the
way up because it doesn't help acclimatization. But what do I know? I'm a rugby
playing engineer!